Oh, George

I guess pot is the gateway drug. See below:British singer George Michael was arrested on drug-possession charges Friday in a public bathroom near his home in North London, according to The Daily Telegraph.

 The newspaper reported that police officers — responding to a tip from a lavatory attendant — caught Michael, 45, using a “small amount” of crack cocaine and marijuana in a public restroom. He was taken to a North London police station where he received a cautionary warning and was released after he accepted responsibility for carrying the drugs.

 “The caution was [issued] for the possession of Class A and Class C drugs, cocaine and cannabis,” a spokesperson for Scotland Yard told the Telegraph. “He was released and no further action will be taken.”

 

Loving This

Sort of giving me Sufjan Stevens meets The Rapture: Ra Ra Riot (“Ghost Under Rocks”):

This year’s “Young Folks”?

Noah and the Whale (“Five Years Time”):

Pterodactyls/Three Changes/Dinosaur

In college, I was in a production of a play called Pterodactyls by Nicky Silver. It was a pitch black comedy about the return of a misfit (HIV infected) son to the home of his (distant) father, (boozy, busybody) mother, (batsh*t insane) sister, and her (dippy/soon to be out of the closet) fiancee. He basically destroys the family, setting in motion a series of events that humiliates (and dispatches with) the father, has an affair with (and infects) the fiancee (causing his death), which precipitates his sister’s suicide. He is then left alone in the house with his mother, now the rightful male figurehead, where he encourages her alcoholism, leading to her eventual death. Leaving him alone (until after a time he, presumably, succumbs to his illness).Trust me, it was hilarious!
 
I still think Pterodactyls is a brilliantly caustic riff on “the prodigal son’s return” and pinter and all the theater’s dark domestic family dramas . And it was made all the better because my castmates became (and still are) some of my closest friends. [Vanessa – Mom; Amanda – Sister; Rufus – Fiancee. Fittingly, I was the nasty son — our collective lovefest was intense]. The playwright came to see the production and managed to say something nasty/bitchy to everyone in the cast over dinner. And then at a booze-filled afterparty, he looked on with a pinched face as Amanda and I danced provacatively/smarmily (to “Deeper and Deeper” perhaps) but the ribald intensity of our dance moves caused our balanced to go off kilter, until the pair of us careened over backwards right in front of him, basically landing at his feet. Clearly, our skills had impressed him once again. Good times. 
 
Vanessa and I saw his new play, Three Changes, last night. (Starring Dylan McDurmott and Maura Tierney). It’s another Freudian headtrip, most notable in how thematically similar it is to Pterodactyls (and all Nicky Silver’s other plays), while being entirely less plausible or palatable, and a lot less funny. In this one, a misfit (gay) brother invites himself into the home of his (extranged) brother and his brother’s (boozy, sad) wife, bringing along his (dippy/totally out) hustler boyfriend. The straight brother is cheating on his wife with a (desperate/insane) makeup counter girl. And eventually the misfit brother humiliates and dispatches with his (distant/uptight) brother brother, thus destroying the original (“corrupt”?) family unit and instates himself as the rightful male figurehead (in a manner similar to Pterodactyls – except somehow much more unpleasant).
 
I’m still glad I saw it…and it’s fascinating to see a playwright so obviously trying to work out the same demons…but geeesh.
 

But I digress – this has nothing to do with music I admit….so let’s get back on track. Three Changes (obviously) reminds me of Pterodactyls which makes me think of dinosaurs which makes me think of Was (Not Was) whose biggest hit was “Walk the Dinosaur” which makes me think of a totally random (and totally cheesy) Ozzy Osbourne/Kim Basinger duet the group recorded (Madonna actually laid down the guide vocals in the early 80s) that became a surprise european hit in the early 90s. But never on these shores.
 
So let’s watch this bit of retro fun to wash out last night’s experience [“Shake Your Head”]:
 

 

Righteous Indignation, Pt. II

I guess I spoke to soon. See the below clip for some “political engagement.”

 It’s heavy-handed, and somehow a little hard for me to watch, but at least it’s trying.

 

I blame you, General Motors

It may have a slightly shrieky Melissa Etheridge vibe to it, and yes it’s been featured in a car commercial, but I still think this song is dope:

Damn them

Those two damn girls muscled in as his arm candy….

5th time

Spring Awakening tickets rained down from the heavens once again (thanx Sage). This was (gasp) the 5^th time I’ve seen the production since its earliest incarnation at the Atlantic downtown (I’ve only paid once – I promise I’m not a musical obsessed 15 year old girl). The production is showing a little wear now that the original cast has been entirely replaced, but the principals are all solid (I’d say they act it better than they sing it) and even if it’s not as fresh as it once was, the truly beautiful moments still shine through.

 

Perhaps it was the Tuesday at 7 curtain time or an avalanche of underage tourists but I was really surprised (and a bit unsettled) at the gasps, laughs, hollers, whoops and groans the audience unleashed at some of the most inappropriate (and intimate) moments. SA is definitely “mature material” but I don’t think it’s the shockfest their reactions seem to indicate.  

 

It’s certainly being marketed as a teenage ‘coming of age’ story with an eye on RENT size dollars (and I say more power to you for aiming for the biggest audience possible) – but it may be an uneasy fit. I wonder how the touring production is going to be received (it just opened in SanFran, let’s hope they keep it in major metropolitan areas). If a NYC audience is cackling through parental abuse and the fumbling sexuality of teenagers – it doesn’t bode well.

 

This is probably one of my favorite moments in the show. Here’s a clip, choral-style, which doesn’t do it justice but at least gives the uninitiated an idea:

 

cruisin’

Smokey Robinson’s in our office today to talk to press about the Motown 50th anniversary and some of his biggest songs (while listening to them ‘on the board’ in our mastering studios). It’s cool as can be…so let’s honor him with one of my all time favorite pop songs–longing and sexy, a little melancholy and a touch naughty:

Righteous Indignation

My work pal Jamison makes a good point: the country is completely out of whack, everyone’s furious with the president, financial institutions are evaporating before our eyes… but you wouldn’t know this from listening to current popular music. Where’s the political screeds? The protest songs? The righteous indignation? Is Green Day the best we can do?
 
Here’s an old-school 70s style Nixon-baiting gem from the one and only Stevie Wonder (“You Haven’t Done Nothin'”—with a helpful assist from The Jackson 5) to show us how it’s done.